You Cheated
by Spider RedNight
Summary: Spoiler alert - This is what I pictured was on the Riddler's end of the communication after one solves all the mysteries on the island. A little violent, but nothing bad. Oh, and it's not a yaoi thing, either.


_Ha! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Of course, it's _ME _that we're talking about here, the one that can't seem to write any DECENT fanfic without having a trail to work with. This contains spoilers of sorts, so if you haven't solved all of the Riddler's challenges in Arkham Asylum, then I wouldn't read this. :) And to those of you that haven't solved all the challenges yet, DO IT. It's really good. _

_I don't own Batman or the Riddler. DC Comics own them. :)_

* * *

"What?" He exclaimed in disbelief as the last of his riddles crossed itself off on the long virtual list on his giant screen that had been set up to wires and cables in an abandoned house. He had been carefully monitoring his computer, watching as each riddle, each clue was crossed off as the Batman unraveled his mysteries. It was a tedious process, one that both exhilarated and frustrated Edward. "You did it?" He asked sharply, clutching his question mark cane with pained anger, his fingers turning white. He zoomed into the screen, seeming to double check just in case the Batman skimmed over something vital. "You must've cheated, there's no way you could've beaten me!" He denied, scanning the screen with rapidly dancing eyes.

In his mind, that was the truth. Yes, it was probably a mistake leaving all those secret maps lying about in the most obvious of places; yes, it was probably a mistake making some of the riddles painfully easy; yes, it was probably a mistake to clue him in on whenever he reached a certain point. But still, that was the whole reason why Edward had placed everything where it was. He had done so with a careful precision, an anal and perfectionist walkthrough on his creative genius. He had been very certain on his locations, very precise on his question mark alignments. How could have the Batman have found them all in one night? He had to have cheated; someone was solving them FOR him, someone was looking them up and feeding him the answers. After all, it was Batman they were talking about. He got up from his chair and approached a wall. He glanced outside through his dilapidated, dirt-stained window and saw the dark sky. The sun wasn't even coming up, yet. How…?

"Well, you asked for it, Batman," He snarled loud enough for the speakers on his computer to pick up his voice. He knew it was sensitive enough to catch everything in the room, but he wanted to be sure, anyhow. He turned away from the window and held his cane at length, reaching beside him and pointing to a red button. "My final challenge for the whole of Gotham is just seconds away…" He caught himself as he heard something familiar, something unholy, something intimidating. "What?" He asked incredulously, abandoning the red button and quickly approaching the grimy window again. "Sirens… The police!" He gasped, flinging himself away from the window and flattening against the wall right next to it. The fear was quickly replaced with anger however, and he furrowed his brow with hatred.

"You _cheated_, Batman," He snarled, turning to the computer slowly. "You COULDN'T have outsmarted me!"

No sooner had he said that that he heard five sharp raps on the door. "Police, open up!" He suddenly all but dropped his cane and instantly directed his gaze to the door that he made sure was locked. In less than ten or so seconds, the surprise turned to anger, then to fear. He didn't know what to do, and no time at all seemed to pass by like minutes, like hours.

"No," He eventually managed to gasp. He shook his head as if to confirm his decision, almost like he wasn't alone in the room. In fact, the past few hours went by in bliss - well, before the Batman started getting all smart with his detective skills and showing Edward up. Edward had kept the lights off and stared at the screen, memorizing where he placed all the trophies and mocking Batman occasionally, undoubtedly questioning his intelligence and comparing him to a monkey and other such derogatory things. He enjoyed the solitude, but finding the police standing outside his door filled him with anxiety and dread. Still shaking his head slowly, he started to back away from the door.

Another five pounds on the door. "I said open the door, now!"

"No!" He replied with much more ferocity. He stood up straighter and took a more defensive position, seemingly not unlike a trapped animal. This was different than fear, however. This was more of a denial; part of him hoped that if he just said no, they'd simply turn around and leave him alone, in painful misery at being caught by Batman… Again. He clutched the can tightly in his hands, cutting off the blood flow. He didn't seem to be paying attention.

He didn't have much time to feel this mingled sensation of terror, loathing, and denial for long, however. The police managed to jimmy the lock on the door and opened it forcefully it. At least four of them poured into the room, rifles pointed straight at Edward. He was instantaneously paralyzed at them getting through so quickly.

"Down on the ground, down on the ground!" One of them shouted, making a motion with his rifle. Edward shook his head, hugging the cane to his chest, but still keeping his position at an angle so Batman could hear everything that was going on. When he failed to respond, two of the policemen approached him and started to wrangle him to the ground.

"No!" He cried shrilly, his voice rising with fear as he abandoned any traces of sanity temporarily, struggling against them with all his might. They were having trouble using the whole of their strength, as their rifles seemed to be glued into their hands and they couldn't get a good grip on him and hold their rifles at the same time. For a good couple of seconds, the three men twisted arms around each other, the policemen trying to grab onto something on Edward's arms that they could hold him in place. He dropped his cane in the confusion, and it fell to the ground quietly, being kicked out of the way on accident. For a fraction of a second, he wished he had it back so he could defend himself, but he knew he was caught. Still trying to break free of their increasing grips, he turned to the monitor as a last resort. Just because he was caught didn't mean that Batman wasn't still listening.

"Tell me," Edward said desperately to the computer as they skirmished. "How did you work out where I was?" He asked. "Do you hear me?" He asked quickly, not waiting for a response. "I, Edward Nigma, will-" He was cut off abruptly, as the lead police officer approached him while they struggled and gave him a swift blow in his gut with the butt of his rifle. He grunted with pain and everything became fuzzy. He heard the static starting to replace the fear and pain that was coursing through his mind and veins. He was losing communication with Batman, and the latter didn't answer his question…

One of the police officers casually waltzed over to the computer and flipped the switch as everything turned black.


End file.
